Transportation – AFSCME Privatization Updatehttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate
Information on the latest activities, problems, and issues in the contracting out of public servicesWed, 16 Aug 2017 23:19:10 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.5124494553Dems demand new cost estimate for Trump’s air traffic control planhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/08/chao-dodges-question-about-privatization-of-air-traffic-control.htm
Fri, 11 Aug 2017 16:46:15 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40304Source: Melanie Zanona, The Hill, August 7, 2017 House Democrats are demanding a new cost estimate for President Trump’s proposal to separate air traffic control from the federal government. In a letter to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), top Democrats on several committees asked for a new score of the spinoff plan after changes were […]

House Democrats are demanding a new cost estimate for President Trump’s proposal to separate air traffic control from the federal government. In a letter to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), top Democrats on several committees asked for a new score of the spinoff plan after changes were made to the legislation following its approval from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The privatization push has been formally endorsed by the White House but has not yet been brought to a floor vote in the House. …

Almost two months after President Trump with great fanfare endorsed removing them from the payroll, the fate of more than 30,000 federal employees will not be decided before the House adjourns for its summer recess. House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) had hoped to find both the necessary votes and time on the House floor for consideration of a bill that would spin the nation’s air traffic controllers and thousands of people working on modernizing the aviation system into a private nonprofit corporation. But in the maelstrom of last-minute action before the House heads home Friday, the bill has not been scheduled for what was expected to be a contentious debate on the floor. The proposal still faces bipartisan opposition in the Senate. …

Senators who decide how much to spend on the Federal Aviation Administration rejected Tuesday the Trump administration’s proposal to privatize air-traffic control. The Senate Appropriations subcommittee for transportation and housing approved by voice vote a $60 billion bill, with $16.7 billion for FAA. The senators joined their House counterparts in rejecting a proposal to move controllers from FAA to a non-profit corporation. But the decision isn’t final because the Senate and House must still debate and resolve their differences before spending decisions become final, months from now. …

]]>40304Indiana Highway Gives ‘Black Eye’ to Private Investment in Infrastructurehttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/08/the-public-private-indiana-toll-road-is-in-trouble-the-problems-facing-the-nations-largest-public-pr.htm
http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/08/the-public-private-indiana-toll-road-is-in-trouble-the-problems-facing-the-nations-largest-public-pr.htm#respondThu, 10 Aug 2017 20:32:34 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2011/07/the-public-private-indiana-toll-road-is-in-trouble-the-problems-facing-the-nations-largest-public-pr.htmSource: Carol Wolf, Business Week, July 11, 2011 Eleven million trucks. That's how many 18-wheelers needed to rumble across northern Indiana in 2010 for the state's 157-mile toll road to break even. Unfortunately, only about half that many did and...

At a time when Washington is promoting private investment in roads, bridges and other infrastructure, a 21-mile stretch of highway in Indiana provides what critics say is a cautionary tale. The project, a partnership between the state and private investors, was signed by Vice President Mike Pence in 2014 when he was the state’s governor. It is two years behind schedule and only 60% built. The state is in the process of taking it over and will have to issue debt to finish it. …

President Donald Trump’s $1 trillion plan to rebuild America’s infrastructure may be unprecedented in its size and ambition — but it promotes a controversial model championed by Vice President Mike Pence in his home state of Indiana. The Hoosier flavor is hardly surprising: After his gubernatorial experience with road privatization, Pence has been a public face of the White House initiative, and executives from financial firms that helped privatize Indiana’s roads are now the Trump administration officials sculpting the details of the national plan. As that federal proposal now moves forward, Indiana’s experience with infrastructure privatization has become a political Rorschach test. Pence and his allies are extolling Indiana’s record selling control of major roads to private firms as an ideal model, arguing that such public-private partnerships prompted corporations to invest money in Indiana infrastructure that taxpayers would otherwise have had to sponsor. …

Since we’ve written frequently about the contentious issue of toll roads, we can’t let pass without notice Monday’s news that the company operating the Indiana Toll Road has filed for bankruptcy. In 2006, under Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, the state entered into a 75-year lease with a partnership formed by the Spanish firm Cintra and the Australian Macquarie Infrastructure Group. The state got a lump-sum payment of $3.8 billion. The partnership formed a company, which now operates the toll road that stretches across the northern part of the state. According to a Congressional Research Service report, after 2010, toll increases were limited to the greater of 2 percent, the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index, or the percentage increase in per capita nominal Gross Domestic Product. Caitlin Devitt who has a good account of the fallout from the bankruptcy filing in The Bond Buyer, quotes Standard & Poor’s analyst Anne Selting who said toll roads are among the riskier public-private partnerships because “they’re obviously completely dependent on volume and user projections.”

]]>http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/08/the-public-private-indiana-toll-road-is-in-trouble-the-problems-facing-the-nations-largest-public-pr.htm/feed023404The Untapped Wealth of American Citieshttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/08/untapped-wealth-american-cities.htm
Thu, 10 Aug 2017 20:03:23 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=41519Source: Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak, CityLab, August 6, 2017 Americans who travel abroad sometimes wonder why many of our airports are lacking in comparison to the best international airports. Or they want to know why other nations seem to do a better job with public transportation and the management of other public assets, […]

Americans who travel abroad sometimes wonder why many of our airports are lacking in comparison to the best international airports. Or they want to know why other nations seem to do a better job with public transportation and the management of other public assets, from ports to parks. The answers we are tempted to give are that we do not invest as heavily in public infrastructure as many other nations and that a market-oriented American ethos with an entrepreneurial culture prefers private solutions (cars versus trains) to public ones. … But there’s another answer: Compared to many other nations, in the United States government has more direct control of public assets such as airports, convention centers, and transport, water and sewer systems (just to name a few). And the government does not, for the most part, manage them well, failing to leverage the market potential and value of the assets they own. Far from being broke, many cities and counties have enormous untapped wealth, which could be used to finance not only infrastructure but investments in children and other critical needs. …

There is a better way, teased out in detail and with great authority in The Public Wealth of Cities, a new book co-authored by Dag Detter and Stefan Folster, two Swedish experts in public finance. The pair have studied public asset management and are promoting a third alternative to political management or full privatization—public ownership that relies on professional, private-sector management.… The authors’ core argument is a disruptive idea in public policy that links management systems, public asset value, intelligent financing, and the proper role of politicians in a democracy. …

]]>41519Infrastructure Borrowing Drops as U.S. States Await Trump Plan Detailshttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/08/donald-trump-supports-using-federal-funds-to-fix-states-bridges-and-roads-elaine-chao-says.htm
Thu, 10 Aug 2017 16:36:31 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40302Source: Reuters, August 6, 2017 President Donald Trump arrived in office having promised a bold $1 trillion infrastructure investment plan over 10 years for roads, bridges, airports and transit systems crumbling by the day across the United States. But nearly seven months later the administration has produced few details on the future of federal infrastructure […]

President Donald Trump arrived in office having promised a bold $1 trillion infrastructure investment plan over 10 years for roads, bridges, airports and transit systems crumbling by the day across the United States. But nearly seven months later the administration has produced few details on the future of federal infrastructure funding, one reason why state and municipal governments have issued fewer bonds to improve roads, water systems and other projects so far in 2017. … Through July, new municipal deals to fund transportation, utilities and power projects totaled $50.7 billion, down 19.4 percent from the same period last year, according to an analysis of Thomson Reuters data. That decline outpaces a broader drop in the U.S. municipal bond market overall, with total issuance down 13.1 percent thus far in 2017 to $201.7 billion. New deals have lagged since November’s post-election selloff, when state and local governments quickly issued bonds fearing potential policy changes and rate increases by the Federal Reserve.

Amid growing frustrating that President Trump’s infrastructure package keeps getting pushed to the back burner, some members of Congress are taking matters into their own hands. A bipartisan coalition from the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has been discussing pushing its own bill if the administration doesn’t release something by the fall. The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee has also been gathering input with an eye on drafting an infrastructure plan this summer. And several Republicans met at the White House last week to try to get the ball rolling there on the issue.

President Trump remains committed to working with Congress on a massive infrastructure bill, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday. The reassurance from the White House comes as GOP leaders have signaled that the timeline for Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure package — which has yet to be unveiled — will likely slip to next year. “The president’s been very outspoken on the need for a massive overhaul to the country’s infrastructure, and that certainly is still a priority, both legislative and in any capacity that he has the ability to carry that out,” Sanders told reporters at the daily briefing.

]]>40302LAZ Parking says three ‘dishonest’ employees stole parking lot money from MBTAhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/08/laz-parking-says-three-dishonest-employees-stole-parking-lot-money-mbta.htm
Thu, 10 Aug 2017 13:09:11 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=41529Source: Gintautas Dumcius, MassLive.Com, July 31, 2017 Three “dishonest” employees were responsible for the alleged theft of millions in MBTA parking lot cash, LAZ Parking’s president said in a statement Monday. The statement from the president and founder of LAZ Parking, Jeffrey Karp, came after Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced the firm agreed to […]

Three “dishonest” employees were responsible for the alleged theft of millions in MBTA parking lot cash, LAZ Parking’s president said in a statement Monday. The statement from the president and founder of LAZ Parking, Jeffrey Karp, came after Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced the firm agreed to pay $5.6 million to settle allegations over the theft. Employees at the firm, contracted to manage the MBTA’s parking lots, “skimmed millions of dollars in cash” from MBTA parking facilities in the Greater Boston Area, according to Healey’s office. … In announcing the settlement, Healey’s office said the firm did not use revenue controls, which were required in its contract with the MBTA. The public transit agency canceled the contract with LAZ in May 2017. …

A hedge fund sued on Monday to have Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy case thrown out, arguing that the federal oversight board guiding the island’s financial affairs was unconstitutionally established. In a lawsuit filed in United States District Court in San Juan, the hedge fund, Aurelius Capital, cited the “appointments clause” of the United States Constitution, which calls for all principal officers of the federal government to be appointed by the president, and then confirmed by the Senate. That did not happen when the seven members of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico were selected, Aurelius said in its motion to dismiss the bankruptcy-like proceedings. …

The economic devastation in Puerto Rico has pushed the American Federation of Teachers to lend a hand to the island’s educators. Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico will continue to represent the 40,000 plus Puerto Rican educators. It signed a three-year affiliation agreement with the 1.6 million-member AFT to help it combat the island’s economic challenges, the two unions announced Aug. 3. … AFT and AMPR will work together to fight austerity measures and privatization on the island, Randi Weingarten, AFT president, told Bloomberg BNA Aug. 4. AFT will lend resources to help AMPR train teachers for the future and to bring in legal assistance to fight the fiscal plan adopted by the Puerto Rican government, she said. …

A year ago, Congress cobbled together a plan to try to save Puerto Rico from its US$123 billion debt and pension crisis without costing American taxpayers a penny. The law, signed by former President Barack Obama on June 30, 2016, effectively steered Puerto Rico into bankruptcy-like proceedings in federal court to prevent a massive default, while saddling the commmonwealth with an oversight board to ensure it put its fiscal house in order. Though the vote was bipartisan, critics called it a “Band-Aid” that would do little to solve Puerto Rico’s core problems: unsustainable debt that has kept the country mired in recession for almost a dozen years. …

]]>40803Feds join court fight to restart $5.6 billion P3 Purple Line light railhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/07/judge-keeps-purple-line-p3-in-limbo.htm
Tue, 18 Jul 2017 23:31:15 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40104Source: Jim Watts, Bond Buyer, July 17, 2017 The Federal Transit Administration has joined Maryland in a court battle seeking to overturn a federal judge’s order that halted work on the $5.6 billion Purple Line light rail project being financed as a public-private partnership. The FTA filed documents on Friday with the U.S. Court […]

The Federal Transit Administration has joined Maryland in a court battle seeking to overturn a federal judge’s order that halted work on the $5.6 billion Purple Line light rail project being financed as a public-private partnership. The FTA filed documents on Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to join the state’s case as it fights District Judge Richard Leon’s decision in August 2016 to vacate the project’s federal environmental clearance. Maryland was only five days away from signing an acceptance agreement with the FTA for a $900 million New Starts grant when Leon’s order cut off funding for the Purple Line until a final decision in a lawsuit over environmental issues that was filed in 2014. …

Maryland is urging a federal appeals court to speed up the state’s effort to overturn a lower court order that has halted work for almost a year on its proposed $5.6 billion Purple Line light rail system being financed as a public-private partnership. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh filed a motion July 3 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia asking the court to expedite the hearing schedule by ordering briefings to begin by July 20 and end no later than Aug. 24. At that point, the court likely would hear oral arguments before issuing a decision. …

After a quarter-century of planning, several hundred million dollars in public money, scores of public hearings and endless studies, the Purple Line, one of the Washington area’s most important transit projects, may be facing extinction. If that happens, it would be a testament to dysfunction, inertia and judicial negligence. Having come within five days of receiving $900 million in federal funding, the 16-mile light-rail line was dealt an unwarranted setback last summer by a federal judge, whose ongoing foot-dragging, combined with the Trump administration’s hostility to new transit ventures, imperils an east-west link that would be a lifeline for tens of thousands of residents of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and would revitalize an arc of close-in suburban communities. With every passing day, the Purple Line’s prospects are dimming. The federal funding agreement frozen in August by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon was the project’s linchpin; without it, a multibillion-dollar public-private partnership cannot go forward, and investors who were ready to start building are stuck. Without a green light now from Mr. Leon, it may be all but impossible to revive the federal funding agreement for the foreseeable future. That’s because the Trump administration has proposed halting all cash for transit projects that lack signed funding agreements, starting almost immediately and lasting for the remainder of the fiscal year. …

]]>40104Warning: Trump Administration Wants To Privatize National Park Campsiteshttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/07/warning-trump-administration-wants-privatize-national-park-campsites.htm
Tue, 18 Jul 2017 15:15:23 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=41496Source: James Jimenez, KRWG, July 8, 2017 … U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recently announced that he wants to privatize our national park campsites. There are a lot of problems with this—primarily that prices will very likely be raised. Also, there is generally much less accountability when private companies run government programs. It becomes not […]

… U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recently announced that he wants to privatize our national park campsites. There are a lot of problems with this—primarily that prices will very likely be raised. Also, there is generally much less accountability when private companies run government programs. It becomes not only more difficult to determine just how our tax dollars are being spent, but there is also more room for subtle forms of discrimination to take place. By definition privatization means an economic focus on the use of public lands rather than a conservation and equity focus. Sec. Zinke’s desire to privatize public campgrounds is just one small symptom of a bigger illness that has this presidential administration in its grip—the illness of commodifying everything and anything that can, in any way, be made to profit someone. …

America’s national parks need a staggering $11.5bn worth of overdue road and infrastructure repairs. But with the proposed National Park Service budget slashed by almost $400m, the Trump administration says it will turn to privatizing public park services to address those deferred maintenance costs. … But some public lands advocates are concerned that privatization would drive up costs for visitors and put the egalitarian nature of visiting a park out of reach for some. … If you’ve visited a national park, especially a busy one, such as Yosemite or Grand Canyon, there is a good chance you’ve patronized a private operator. Concessionaires operate a range of services including lodging, restaurants and transportation – ferries to Alcatraz and Liberty islands, for example. All told, the NPS has issued private concession contracts at 100 places within the park system. In recent years, disagreements over park contracts have led to costly lawsuits for the park service. … It would take a tremendous increase in such contracts to generate enough revenue to help the park system. … But despite his bullishness on infrastructure spending, Trump has proposed cutting the NPS budget by nearly $400m, which will force job cuts. …

]]>41496Privatization Is Changing America’s Relationship With Its Physical Stuffhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/07/trumps-transition-team-is-stacked-with-privatization-enthusiasts.htm
Mon, 17 Jul 2017 19:39:41 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40250Source: Brian Alexander, The Atlantic, July 12, 2017 … As vague as Trump’s pronouncements have been on the matter, it is clear that the general thrust behind the promised building-and-repair push involves using federal dollars as up-front investment to entice private enterprises to provide most of the financing. While Democrats announced their opposition, the […]

… As vague as Trump’s pronouncements have been on the matter, it is clear that the general thrust behind the promised building-and-repair push involves using federal dollars as up-front investment to entice private enterprises to provide most of the financing. While Democrats announced their opposition, the general idea of increased privatization of infrastructure has had a bipartisan cast. President Obama supported a plan to create an “infrastructure bank” that would help finance so-called public-private partnerships (known, for their alliteration, as P3s), but that idea fizzled under the glare of Republican opposition. He also floated the idea of selling off the Tennessee Valley Authority. …

Today, I read two articles centered on this idea, both of which concerned Vice President Mike Pence – and one that concerned Pence’s role in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One article also included a sprinkling of US secretary of [privatized] education, Betsy DeVos. A major goal of corporate education reform is to deliver public education to private entities (corporations, or even nonprofits, but don’t think that an entity termed “nonprofit” cannot be a handsome money dispenser for those running the nonprofit and doling out contracts). However, the extreme-right-Republican aim does not end with public education but with delivering the operation of the entire American infrastructure to private entities. In the end, what this entails is having private corporations front money to state and local governments in order to lease back to the public what the public already owns.

… Now President Trump is poised to continue privatization and private contracting in all kinds of industries, from education to incarceration. Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson looks at the history and politics of privatization with Donald Cohen and Shahrzad Habibi of the group In The Public Interest. …

]]>40250Authorization To Fix The Crumbling BQE Faster Stalls In Albanyhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/07/authorization-to-fix-the-crumbling-bqe-faster-stalls-in-albany.htm
Mon, 17 Jul 2017 14:56:38 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=41476Source: Emma Whitford, Gothamist, July 12, 2017 Legislation that the Department of Transportation predicted could shave years and millions of dollars off of critical Brooklyn Queens Expressway repairs floundered in Albany this session, to the frustration of local politicians, policy groups, labor unions, pro-business groups, and residents who live alongside the decaying BQE triple […]

Legislation that the Department of Transportation predicted could shave years and millions of dollars off of critical Brooklyn Queens Expressway repairs floundered in Albany this session, to the frustration of local politicians, policy groups, labor unions, pro-business groups, and residents who live alongside the decaying BQE triple cantilever in Brooklyn Heights. … There is a basic resistance in Albany, and upstate generally, to what is considered privatization of the state contracting process,” she added. “The main opposition comes from public service unions that are concerned about their jobs somehow disappearing or being diminished.” (“We wanted to ensure that men and women in the state workforce, who are perfectly trained and qualified to do the work, didn’t lose their jobs because of design build outsourcing,” stated Emily Cote, director of communications for the Civil Service Employees Association.) …

]]>41476Oregon hired a company to paint the Ross Island Bridge without knowing its safety record. Then a worker fell.http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/07/oregon-hired-a-company-to-paint-the-ross-island-bridge-without-knowing-its-safety-record-then-a-worker-fell.htm
Tue, 11 Jul 2017 17:39:37 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=41458Source: Gordon R. Friedman, The Oregonian, July 6, 2017 The Oregon Department of Transportation’s method for vetting contractors leaves the state open to hiring companies with troubling safety records, a review by The Oregonian/OregonLive has found. That’s exactly what happened when the department hired Abhe & Svoboda Inc. to repaint the Ross Island Bridge […]

The Oregon Department of Transportation’s method for vetting contractors leaves the state open to hiring companies with troubling safety records, a review by The Oregonian/OregonLive has found. That’s exactly what happened when the department hired Abhe & Svoboda Inc. to repaint the Ross Island Bridge this year. Officials at the agency said when they chose the firm, they knew nothing of its safety history. The company’s track record includes accidents that killed and injured workers who were not wearing fall protection gear. Also on its record are repeated failures, as recently as 2011, to outfit bridge painters with adequate safety harnesses, safety records show. … Before awarding contracts, department officials don’t check publicly available online Occupational Safety & Health Administration records showing safety violations, workplace injuries and deaths from every state. Running such a check on Abhe & Svoboda takes minutes and shows violations from around the country spanning decades. …

]]>41458Michigan university following Ohio State’s lead with parking privatizationhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/06/michigan-university-following-ohio-states-lead-with-parking-privatization.htm
Thu, 29 Jun 2017 21:08:51 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=41434Source: Tom Knox, Columbus Business First, June 29, 2017 A public university in Michigan is considering privatizing its parking system – and using Ohio State University as an example. Eastern Michigan University regents on Tuesday authorized President James Smith to pursue an arrangement to lease out its parking apparatus in exchange for upfront money. … […]

A public university in Michigan is considering privatizing its parking system – and using Ohio State University as an example. Eastern Michigan University regents on Tuesday authorized President James Smith to pursue an arrangement to lease out its parking apparatus in exchange for upfront money. … It’s a significant decision because it is one of the first universities to follow Ohio State’s lead after the school signed a first-of-its-kind arrangement in 2012. Ohio State leased its parking operations to Australian pension fund QIC Infrastructure in a 50-year, $483 million deal, framing it as raising money for academics. …

Mayor Megan Barry’s administration is exploring the privatization of the city-operated Nashville International Airport to an outside management company to generate funding for mass transit in Middle Tennessee. The mayor’s office confirmed hearing a presentation in May from representatives of Oaktee Capital Management, a California-based hedge fund that has also made bids to run city-operated airports in other cities. …

]]>41439Update public on airport securityhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/06/policing-of-hawaii-airport-triggers-lawsuit.htm
Thu, 29 Jun 2017 15:33:24 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=38825Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 23 June 2017 Last summer the state awarded Securitas a three-year, $130 million contract for security at all Hawaii airports. …The Hawaii Government Employees Association, meanwhile, is questioning whether private security guards are qualified or legally authorized to have police powers. The union contends that, over the years, the DOT has allowed Securitas to […]

Last summer the state awarded Securitas a three-year, $130 million contract for security at all Hawaii airports. …The Hawaii Government Employees Association, meanwhile, is questioning whether private security guards are qualified or legally authorized to have police powers. The union contends that, over the years, the DOT has allowed Securitas to expand its role. …

The state Transportation Department did confirm that it had given the Public Safety Department a 180-day notice of its intent to terminate an agreement to station 57 deputy sheriffs at the airport. But Fuchigami said he wants to work out a new agreement that gives deputy sheriffs new duties and better coordinates security operations at the airport. … Despite reassurances that the sheriff’s department will remain part of the airport’s security detail the sheriff’s union believes this shake up is an attempt to drive it’s deputies out. “That is our biggest concern that this is just another step toward privatizing law enforcement at the airport and that is something we violently object to,” said Randy Perreira, HGEA Executive Director.

Major changes are in the works at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport with regards to security. The Hawaii Department of Transportation sent a letter to the Department of Public Safety to say deputy sheriffs will no longer be patrolling the airport. The Department of Public Safety tells us it has 57 deputy sheriffs and two civilians working at Honolulu’s airport. … Deputy sheriffs belong to the Hawaii Government Employees Association. The union filed a lawsuit against the state last year because it allowed Securitas to take over some of the law enforcement duties at all of Hawaii’s airports. We asked about this latest issue, and received the following statement from Randy Perreira, HGEA executive director: “HGEA is aware of the letter from the State Department of Transportation to the Department of Public Safety regarding termination of services of State Sheriffs at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. We are working to get more information regarding this issue.

]]>38825Union: Look to Circulator and D.C. Streetcar for evidence of why Metro shouldn’t be privatizedhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/05/d-c-metro-finances-worse-than-operations-privatization-on-the-table.htm
Thu, 18 May 2017 22:18:15 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=37858Source: Faiz Siddiqui, Washington Post, May 16, 2017 Reliability problems with the D.C. Circulator and planning and construction shortfalls of the city’s streetcar system are examples of why the District and Metro should be wary of privatizing more services, the transit agency’s union said Tuesday. Although the District Department of Transportation owns the Circulator […]

Reliability problems with the D.C. Circulator and planning and construction shortfalls of the city’s streetcar system are examples of why the District and Metro should be wary of privatizing more services, the transit agency’s union said Tuesday. Although the District Department of Transportation owns the Circulator buses and oversees the D.C. streetcar, Amalgamated Transit Union International says there’s an implicit warning for Metro. “Fix the service you have; take responsibility for the quality of service you have,” said Michael McCall-Delgado, a strategic researcher at ATU International and author of a new report, “Fool D.C. Twice.” … The union report holds the District partially responsible for the decline of the region’s transit system, saying that instead of investing in Metro, local leaders pushed seemingly “hip” and “premium ridership” projects to attract millennials to the city. …

… ATU, which represents more than 9,000 Metro employees through its Local 689 chapter, has rejected Wiedefeld’s shift toward privatization, including a proposal that would use private contractors to fill station manager or track inspection jobs on the second phase of the Silver Line. Contractors could also be used to operate such facilities as new bus garages. Separately, Metro has nearly doubled its spending on private contractors over the past two years. In its report, however, the union takes D.C. officials to task for failing to hold contractors accountable for construction, planning and service failures. The report highlights how the Circulator, operated by Cincinnati-based First Transit, has been beset by maintenance problems for years “while avoiding government oversight,” according to the union. Circulator buses have a notoriously poor reliability record, with the 2016 audit finding an average of 22 defects per bus. Many of the defects — nearly three per bus — were tied to safety equipment and should have been caught during routine inspections, the audit said. And the problems have persisted: A report this week from WAMU said reliability issues have left the Circulator up to 10 buses short of its quota when buses depart its lots each day. …

In his long-term financial proposal to get Metro back on track and back on budget released April 19, General Manager Paul Wiedefeld included a few vague sentences that could open the door to a partial privatization of the system. The sentences, while far from a proposal for a large-scale privatization, have raised alarm among members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, which represents 9,200 frontline employees. “They’re attacking us anyway they can,” Union president Jackie Jeter said to reporters, just moments after the transit workers turned their backs on WMATA’s leaders and staged a walkout during a board meeting last week. …

Dozens of members of the D.C. region’s largest transit union turned their backs on Metro’s leaders during a tense board meeting on Thursday, then raised their fists to the air and marched out of WMATA headquarters in downtown Washington, defiantly chanting “We move this city.” The labor action was to protest Metro general manager Paul Wiedefeld’s new proposals to reduce costs at the nation’s second-busiest mass transit system, and the union’s president took the unusual step of divulging confidential details of ongoing contract negotiations. …

]]>37858New opposition to P3s may put Texas in a traffic jamhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/05/trumps-public-private-infrastructure-vision-rejected-in-texas.htm
Tue, 16 May 2017 18:58:07 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=41328Source: Richard Williamson, Bond Buyer, May 15, 2017 (Subscription Required) Once a champion of public-private partnerships, Texas has turned against the most common form – tolled highways – amid increasingly organized resistance. With the defeat of House Bill 2861 on May 5, Texas lawmakers slammed the door on 18 major toll projects valued in […]

Once a champion of public-private partnerships, Texas has turned against the most common form – tolled highways – amid increasingly organized resistance. With the defeat of House Bill 2861 on May 5, Texas lawmakers slammed the door on 18 major toll projects valued in the billions of dollars. The bill was designed to speed funding for redevelopment of major thoroughfares in the state’s largest metro areas by tapping private investment. Proponents promised to deliver projects in a decade rather than decades. Conservative politicians in the early 2000s led by former Gov. Rick Perry promoted toll roads as a palatable alternative to raising fuel taxes for funding new highways and lanes and as a way to accelerate the state’s economy. …

President Donald Trump’s plan to invest $1 trillion in U.S. infrastructure with the help of public-private partnerships has hit a speed bump in Texas. Wary of public opposition to new highway tolls, the Texas House voted on May 5 to reject a bill that would have allowed the partnerships, known as P3s, to participate in 18 highway projects costing as much as $30 billion. The defeat leaves the second most-populous U.S. state unable to tap into the partnerships to finance the infrastructure improvements, even as Trump is proposing to expand their use. …

… The bill’s failure underscores the difficulty Trump faces in his bid to use private investment to reach $1 trillion in funding to rebuild roads, bridges, airports, veterans’ hospitals and other facilities. While P3 deals take different forms, they generally involve private investors accepting risk and responsibility for design, construction and operation of a project in return for a revenue stream made up of tolls, user fees or regular tax outlays known as “availability payments.” … Texas previously had broad authority for such partnerships, and some state entities can still use them for such work as building dormitories at universities. But in 2007, the state Legislature voted to restrict P3’s use for transportation-related projects and require that each new proposal for one be authorized. …

]]>41328Lawmakers Tour Penn Station as Christie, Cuomo Call for Privatizationhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/05/lawmakers-tour-penn-station-as-christie-cuomo-call-for-privatization.htm
Fri, 12 May 2017 21:20:50 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=41350Source: Lucy Yang, WABC, May 12, 2017 New Jersey state lawmakers toured Penn Station Friday to get a first-hand look at infrastructure in desperate need of repair after an ongoing wave of delays have left commuters frustrated and angry. And it comes as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo […]

New Jersey state lawmakers toured Penn Station Friday to get a first-hand look at infrastructure in desperate need of repair after an ongoing wave of delays have left commuters frustrated and angry. And it comes as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are pushing to privatize the transit hub. … The legislators got an eye-opening glimpse at the scope of work that Amtrak will undertake this summer, including the spaghetti junction of tracks and switches that needed to be replaced after a train derailment last month paralyzed service on New Jersey Transit, LIRR and Amtrak lines for a week. … On Thursday, Christie and Cuomo issued a joint letter declaring they have lost all faith in Amtrak. … If Amtrak agrees to contract out the running of Penn Station, the governors also want the right to approve any future, private contractor. …

The state’s congressional delegation is urging the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to negotiate with a machinists union in hopes of preventing dozens of jobs from being outsourced. In an April 17 letter to Governor Charlie Baker and the state’s transportation secretary, Stephanie Pollack, the legislators called on the MBTA to negotiate with the International Association of Machinists Local 264 less than a week after the agency’s board approved a budget that could privatize dozens of jobs. …

The state’s independent Inspector General has launched a “proactive” review of at least one of the MBTA’s newly outsourced contracts, bringing the first outside scrutiny to the T’s privatization efforts since the lawmakers granted it a waiver from the Pacheco Law. Inspector General Glenn Cunha’s office said the “interim analysis” — which is not required by law — will be led by a unit specifically created in 2009 to monitor MassDOT, the MBTA and its various programs. Cunha’s office declined to say which contract it’s scrubbing, but it will focus on one of two: a five-year, $18.7 million contract with Brink’s Co., to take over the T’s so-called “money room”; or a five-year, $28 million contract with Mancon to run a parts warehouse.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials said Monday they want to solicit bids to privatize several of their nine bus garages to save about $26 million annually, a prospect that prompted dozens of union supporters to pack the agency’s weekly board meeting. The MBTA spent about $132 million on bus maintenance during the 2016 fiscal year, and officials estimated that outsourcing the work to private companies could save $26 million annually, officials said. Brian Shortsleeve, the MBTA’s acting general manager, said the agency must be “ruthless” in becoming more efficient. He has previously pointed to the MBTA’s bus maintenance costs as much higher than those of similar agencies. … The MBTA didn’t release a timetable for the bid process, but it has suggested it would make the change before the next fiscal year. … Officials are focused on privatizing four dilapidated garages in the Boston area, which are staffed by about 120 workers. … Officials also hope outside companies will find ways to cut about $5 million in costs at the Everett bus garage, and about $6 million at the Cabot Garage in South Boston, which will soon be used only for new buses. Workers at Cabot have also been “challenged” to bring their costs down to private-sector levels, Shortsleeve said. … If approved, the outsourcing would mark one of the largest privatization efforts under Governor Charlie Baker’s administration, which had pushed for more flexibility in outsourcing public jobs. The MBTA is already privatizing its cash collection and warehousing departments. MBTA officials have said that the threat of privatization has spurred union officials to reduce worker costs. In December, the MBTA’s largest labor group, the Boston’s Carmen’s Union, agreed to give up a bargained raise and cut wages for future workers to protect thousands of jobs from being outsourced. …

… The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s board voted Wednesday to require companies that do business at the airports to pay contract workers a base hourly wage of $11.55 starting in January. In all, 4,500 workers — responsible for keeping terminals and plane cabins clean, moving bags, serving meals, and transporting people with disabilities — are expected to benefit from the pay increase. Many of the workers make as little as $7.25 an hour. The plan, approved on a 15 to 1 vote, also will boost pay for Dulles Toll Road workers. The expansion of the authority’s living wage program covers eight additional contracts, and will cost $750,000 to $850,000 annually, according to a report prepared for the board. The base hourly wage will increase to $11.55 on Jan. 1 of next year, $12.15 on Jan. 1, 2019, and $12.75 on Jan. 1, 2020. After that, increases will be tied to inflation.

… MWAA has a living wage policy in place that requires vendors who contract directly with the authority to pay workers $14.27 an hour. However the policy does not cover those who work for business who contract directly with the airlines or those who work for business that operate concessions. … While the policy raises the minimum wage for workers, it doesn’t address their push to require companies to pay for health benefits and submit to a labor peace agreement. …

]]>41269N.J. Lottery Sales Fall Short Following Privatizationhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/04/privatizing-lottery-isnt-lucrative-deal-for-new-jersey.htm
Wed, 19 Apr 2017 18:26:09 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=36515Source: SNJ Today, April 18, 2017 Those hoping to win big in the New Jersey State lottery are spending less on their dreams. State lottery sales are down for the third year since being privatized. Lottery operations management firm Northstar New Jersey promised a return of more than $1.4 billion over 15 years when New […]

Those hoping to win big in the New Jersey State lottery are spending less on their dreams. State lottery sales are down for the third year since being privatized. Lottery operations management firm Northstar New Jersey promised a return of more than $1.4 billion over 15 years when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie moved the games to privatization in 2013. Since then, Northstar has missed its income projections and spent $20 million in allowance funds to cover financial shortfalls. …

New Jersey might get $1 billion less out of its state lottery as part of an amended 15-year deal with the private company that runs part of it, according to an Associated Press analysis. The deal, unveiled by Gov. Chris Christie’s administration on New Year’s Eve, also reduces the amount the company must generate to avoid penalties. The revenue targets that Northstar New Jersey has to meet have been lowered by about $76 million per year over the contract, which was struck in 2013. The total revenue projection was decreased from nearly $16 billion to about $15 billion. … The underperformance — including a $5 million drop in revenue in 2015 — has raised questions from Democrats about the privatization strategy championed by Christie, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate who promoted lottery outsourcing as a way to shrink the government’s payroll and bring in more cash. The lottery brought in $960 million in fiscal year 2015, down from initial expectations of a little more than $1 billion.

New Jersey Having Second Thoughts After Privatizing Lottery
Source: John Reitmeyer, NBC Philadelphia, October 8, 2015
Two years after New Jersey turned over some state lottery functions to a private venture under a controversial long-term deal, lawmakers are questioning why revenues have not met expectations and whether the privatization contract is worth it. The Senate Legislative Oversight Committee announced yesterday that it will hold a hearing on October 19 to review New Jersey’s deal with Northstar New Jersey to address concerns raised in recent weeks about fees Northstar is collecting even as it has failed to meet net-revenue targets. An Assembly committee is also scheduling a hearing on the deal. … Gordon, the Senate committee chairman, said the hearing on October 19 will also review the broader privatization issue, and whether the state is up to the task of monitoring such large contracts. He cited problems the state has had with private companies handling some of the recovery efforts in the wake of Superstorm Sandy in 2012 as another reason to broaden the scope of the hearing.

]]>36515Trump’s Davis-Bacon Quote Turns Construction Industry Headshttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/04/congress-3-bills-target-davis-bacon-act.htm
Tue, 18 Apr 2017 17:11:08 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40700Source: Elliot T Dube, Bloomberg BNA, April 14, 2017 Construction industry stakeholders got a jolt when President Donald Trump recently approached what a U.S. Chamber of Commerce official called a “third rail issue” for building trades unions: changes to the Davis-Bacon Act. Trump said in a New York Times interview published April 5 that […]

Construction industry stakeholders got a jolt when President Donald Trump recently approached what a U.S. Chamber of Commerce official called a “third rail issue” for building trades unions: changes to the Davis-Bacon Act. Trump said in a New York Times interview published April 5 that he was “going to make an announcement in two weeks” regarding Davis-Bacon. The law requires contractors on federally funded construction projects to pay prevailing wages for a given area. …

President Donald Trump shocked organized labor by saying he would soon have an announcement to make about a law that guarantees wage levels for workers on most federally funded construction projects. And since then, the White House has declined to reveal his position publicly. But behind closed doors, the Trump team appears to be scrambling in recent days to calm nerves among the very unions whose workers helped power the president’s Election Day victory. After a meeting with White House staff on Monday, Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions, said he was confident the president was misquoted or misspoke when he told The New York Times he would make an announcement about the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act. … Signed by President Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression, the Davis-Bacon Act requires contractors hired by the federal government for public works and building projects to pay certain classes of laborers and mechanics at prevailing wage rates. The Department of Labor calculates the rates by county, based on data it collects on similar projects in the area. Conservatives in Trump’s own Republican Party would be delighted if the president announced plans to repeal or replace the law. They say it artificially drives up costs for taxpayers and gives a competitive advantage to unions. Unions are anxious to protect Davis-Bacon, and ensure its wage protections are enshrined in Trump’s promised trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. Any move by the president that threatens the law could jeopardize their support for a Trump infrastructure bill, and thwart its prospects for winning votes from congressional Democrats, the unions’ traditional allies. …

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was considering packaging a $1 trillion infrastructure plan with either health care or tax reform legislation as an incentive to get support from lawmakers, especially Democrats. Trump also said in an interview with the New York Times he may move up the unveiling of a plan to rebuild the country’s deteriorating roads, bridges and tunnels, which had been expected later this year. … Some of the infrastructure projects may be built through public-private partnerships, Trump said, declining to say how the total spending would split between public and private sources. But he also said that with interest rates low, the government may be better off financing the projects itself. … Trump said he would make an announcement in two weeks about whether he would seek changes to a wage law for federal projects blamed by conservative groups for inflating costs, though he declined to say what the announcement would be. Conservative groups have pressured the White House on the law, known as the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires contractors on federal projects to pay local prevailing wages – a measure backed by labor unions and Democrats. …

]]>40700Canadian town picks Uber for public transithttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/04/canadian-town-picks-uber-for-public-transit.htm
Tue, 11 Apr 2017 01:20:21 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=41194Source: Stephen Shankland, CNET, April 4, 2017 … Innisfil, population 32,727 as of 2014, concluded in a March council meeting that subsidizing the car-hailing service was a better deal than paying for a bus line. The city plans to pay 100,000 Canadian dollars (about $75,000) for a first stage of the program and CA$125,000 for […]

… Innisfil, population 32,727 as of 2014, concluded in a March council meeting that subsidizing the car-hailing service was a better deal than paying for a bus line. The city plans to pay 100,000 Canadian dollars (about $75,000) for a first stage of the program and CA$125,000 for a second round about 6 to 9 months in. That compares to CA$270,000 annually for one bus and CA$610,000 for two, the town said. The town evaluated on-demand transit proposals as an alternative to buses. … Innisfil will subsidize Uber trips so citizens pay between CA$3 and CA$5 themselves, depending on the destination, the town said. …

]]>41194Trump hypes the private space industry while signing NASA billhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/04/trump-advisers-space-plan-to-moon-mars-and-beyond.htm
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 15:09:07 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40533Source: Loren Grush, The Verge, March 21, 2017 This morning, President Donald Trump signed into law the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 — a bill that essentially authorizes the space agency to keep doing what it’s been doing for the past seven years. But during the signing of the bill, which maintains many of […]

This morning, President Donald Trump signed into law the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 — a bill that essentially authorizes the space agency to keep doing what it’s been doing for the past seven years. But during the signing of the bill, which maintains many of NASA’s big budget programs, Trump placed a lot of emphasis on the commercial space industry and noted that the bill will allow NASA to continue working with the private sector. It’s the most Trump has said about NASA and space policy since he’s taken office. … The law is mainly a way of grounding NASA during the administration change, so it’s still unclear exactly how space policy under the Trump administration will further incorporate the commercial space industry. But it looks like the resurrected National Space Council will provide guidance on NASA’s future policies. … Also during the signing, Trump highlighted NASA’s Commercial Crew Program — an agency initiative to send astronauts to and from the International Space Station on commercial spacecraft. … What does this all mean for the future of NASA? The statements suggest commercial space will enjoy a larger role with NASA in the future, but the full extent of the administration’s plans for space is still unknown. …

On March 10, the Center for a New American Security — a Washington think tank — released the latest installment in a long-running debate about how to assure U.S. access to space. The report, authored by science writer Robert Zimmerman, is titled “Capitalism in Space,” and it proposes a wholesale restructuring of government space programs that Zimmerman frankly admits might eliminate much of NASA. His thesis is that private enterprise and competition can do a better job of delivering low-cost, reliable access to space than government agencies. Zimmerman’s recommendations are uniformly supportive of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has disrupted the space business since its founding in 2002 by offering launch services at much lower prices than traditional providers.

… That is not the way Washington has historically preferred to run either its civil or its military space programs. NASA and the Air Force (which leads military space efforts) traditionally have been deeply engaged in all aspects of their suppliers’ businesses — partly because of the risks involved, and partly because they didn’t trust private companies to always make the right choices. … Zimmerman offers a series of complex comparisons purporting to do just that, but he doesn’t cite hardly any numbers to support his case. … And then there’s the matter of safety. Companies typically achieve low prices by taking out cost, but much of the overhead associated with space efforts goes into assuring the safety of missions. When you leave it to market forces to decide what stays in and what gets taken out of vehicle designs and launch procedures, risk can easily creep into the tradeoffs. A NASA advisory panel warned that it wasn’t a good idea to let SpaceX boost its rocket performance by loading supercooled fuel while astronauts were already aboard. Last year a routine test of that procedure blew up a rocket on the launch pad. … In other words, the main thing that makes SpaceX commercial today is not its launch vehicles but its contract vehicles — which allow it to hold government overseers at arm’s length in a way that United Launch Alliance usually can’t. But because the government is awarding business to SpaceX based largely on cost rather than risk, everybody else in the business is now striving to reduce costs. We’ll see whether this infusion of “market discipline” into the space business increases efficiency, or just grows risk. …

The Trump administration is considering a bold and controversial vision for the U.S. space program that calls for a “rapid and affordable” return to the moon by 2020, the construction of privately operated space stations and the redirection of NASA’s mission to “the large-scale economic development of space,” according to internal documents obtained by POLITICO. The proposed strategy, whose potential for igniting a new industry appeals to Trump’s business background and job-creation pledges, is influencing the White House’s search for leaders to run the space agency. And it is setting off a struggle for supremacy between traditional aerospace contractors and the tech billionaires who have put big money into private space ventures. … The early indications are that private rocket firms like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and their supporters have a clear upper hand in what Trump’s transition advisers portrayed as a race between “Old Space” and “New Space,” according to emails among key players inside the administration. Trump has met with Bezos and Musk, while tech investor Peter Thiel, a close confidant, has lobbied the president to look at using NASA to help grow the private space industry. … Another thrust of the new space effort would be to privatize low-Earth orbit, where most satellites and the International Space Station operate — or a “seamless low-risk transition from government-owned and operated stations to privately-owned and operated stations.” “This may be the biggest and most public privatization effort America has ever conducted,” it says. …

]]>40533Lambert director has mixed feelings on privatization, pushes Congress on higher feeshttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/04/lambert-director-has-mixed-feelings-on-privatization-pushes-congress-on-higher-fees.htm
Mon, 03 Apr 2017 17:59:29 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=41164Source: Adam Aton, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 23, 2017 The director of St. Louis Lambert International Airport said Thursday she’s keeping an open mind about a proposal to privatize its management. Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge also said she has reservations about the shift’s potential to steer more money from the airport to the city. Mayor Francis Slay […]

The director of St. Louis Lambert International Airport said Thursday she’s keeping an open mind about a proposal to privatize its management. Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge also said she has reservations about the shift’s potential to steer more money from the airport to the city. Mayor Francis Slay traveled to Washington this week to ask for St. Louis’ inclusion in a Federal Aviation Administration pilot program to study leasing airport operations to a private business. St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger and Lyda Krewson, the Democratic nominee for mayor, have said the idea deserves examination, and political mega-donor Rex Sinquefield has made a six-figure commitment to help pay for the application. The FAA could decide this month whether to include Lambert in the program, starting a decision-making process that could take at least a year. If the change were made, the city still would own the airport and land while a private company leases it. … The city draws about $6 million annually from the airport, and a public-private partnership could bring an “immediate” infusion of more funds, according to the city. … Congress is considering how infrastructure projects might fit into the FAA’s reauthorization legislation. …

]]>41164Nearly Half of Construction Firms Hired by Maryland Department of General Services Committed OSHA Violations in the Past 10 Yearshttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/03/nearly-half-of-construction-firms-hired-by-maryland-department-of-general-services-committed-osha-violations-in-the-past-10-years.htm
Tue, 28 Mar 2017 22:25:57 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40945Source: Public Citizen, March 14, 2017 Nearly half of the major construction contracts awarded by the state of Maryland’s Department of General Services (DGS) have gone to companies that were cited for worker safety violations, according to a study issued today by Public Citizen. The study examines Maryland DGS-awarded contracts over the past five years, […]

Nearly half of the major construction contracts awarded by the state of Maryland’s Department of General Services (DGS) have gone to companies that were cited for worker safety violations, according to a study issued today by Public Citizen. The study examines Maryland DGS-awarded contracts over the past five years, while simultaneously examining available contractor safety and health incident reports over a 10-year period from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) online database. Over the past five years, 46 percent of firms that have been awarded major construction contracts worth $100,000 or more by the Maryland DGS have been cited for worker safety violations by OSHA. Moreover, 35 percent of all DGS-approved vendors have been cited by OSHA for “serious” violations, meaning that OSHA found a hazard that “could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm.” Three of the firms receiving OSHA violations were cited for violations in association with fatalities that occurred on their work sites. Two contractors have had employees die – in Maryland and West Virginia – after being crushed by improperly placed barriers. An employee of a third contractor in Maryland was struck and killed by a car. … The violations in the analysis occurred throughout all of the contractors’ work over the past 10 years, both public and private. Contractors that have been cited have received nearly $146 million in contracts from DGS alone. They have received $370,297 in OSHA fines over the past decade. …

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner Monday tried to jump-start his plan to allow private companies to build toll lanes along portions of the Stevenson Expressway, saying Democratic leaders in the General Assembly are blocking the project. Just before the governor began speaking, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan pushed back against the proposed project, accusing Rauner of being out to help his “wealthy friends.” … The public-private partnership requires an OK from the General Assembly. State lawmakers have held hearings on the idea, but they haven’t voted on it. … The proposal would allow private companies to build toll lanes along congested portions of the Stevenson Expressway and then collect a portion of the revenue from the drivers that use them. …

… The toll lane project is one of a series of privatization proposals that Rauner has floated during his time in office, only to have the ideas blocked or slowed down by Democrats. Rauner also wants to sell the James R. Thompson Center, the massive, worn Loop office building that’s owned by the state. And he wanted to create a private foundation that would raise money on behalf of the Illinois State Fair. Rauner formed the foundation on his own last year after legislation approving the idea stalled in the General Assembly. Last week, Rauner’s administration moved to lay off 124 prison nurses, with plans to replace them with contract nurses. Privatization of state jobs has also been a key stumbling block in Rauner’s contract standoff with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, with the governor insisting on provisions that would make it easier to outsource work to the private sector. Rauner’s privatization push could become a theme of the 2018 campaign as Democrats try to cast the wealthy businessman Rauner as out of touch with the needs of average voters. Democrat Chris Kennedy didn’t miss a chance to seize on it Monday as he appeared at a gubernatorial candidate forum hosted by the Cook County Democratic Party. …

]]>41088 Effort to establish airports corporation advanceshttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/03/%e2%80%afeffort-to-establish-airports-corporation-advances.htm
Mon, 27 Mar 2017 15:29:43 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=41074Source: Ivy Ashe, Hawaii Tribune Herald, March 24, 2017 Another attempt to consolidate management and planning for Hawaii’s airports is making its way through the state House of Representatives. The measure was first brought to the Senate last year by the late Hawaii Island Sen. Gilbert Kahele. That legislation died during conferencing. This year’s […]

Another attempt to consolidate management and planning for Hawaii’s airports is making its way through the state House of Representatives. The measure was first brought to the Senate last year by the late Hawaii Island Sen. Gilbert Kahele. That legislation died during conferencing. This year’s bill, Senate Bill 658, was introduced by Sen. Lorraine Inouye, D-Hilo, Hamakua, Kohala, Waimea, Waikoloa, Kona, and would establish a Hawaii airport corporation comprised of a governor-appointed board of directors. … The measure has been opposed by labor groups such as the Hawaii Government Employees Association. In written testimony during Senate hearings, executive director Randy Perreira stated having multiple agencies involved in airport management was a way to “collectively protect the public interest.” “The public benefits from the involvement of the Department of Health with respect to addressing environmental concerns, the Board of Land and Natural Resources with respect to protecting public lands and the Department of Human Resources Development with respect to enforcing the civil service law to render impartial service to the public,” he wrote. …

… State correction departments and countless local law enforcement agencies hire extradition companies to retrieve fugitives and suspects. Vans or buses travel long, circuitous routes, sometimes for weeks, with little sleep for guards or prisoners. Because they cross so many jurisdictions, oversight falls into a gray zone. Companies are governed by a 2000 federal law known as Jeanna’s Act, which set broad standards for the treatment of prisoners but has been enforced only once. Seven prisoners on the bus, all interviewed independently, said Mr. Eli’s troubles started when he got into an altercation with another prisoner on board. As punishment, the guards, who were employees of P.T.S. and its subsidiaries, U.S. Prisoner Transport and U.S. Corrections, cuffed his wrists behind his back. Then, as he began to complain of chest pain and repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe,” they put him in a segregation cage, prisoners said. …

The security guard was a big guy of about 270 pounds, and 5-foot-10. The three other guards on the prison bus called him Abram. Over the course of a two-day bus ride through four states last fall, Abram wielded his authority over handcuffed and shackled prisoners, one prisoner recounted, sexually groping men. … The alleged abuse is outlined in a federal lawsuit Wilson filed in October against Prisoner Transportation Services of America, LLC, a private, for-profit company hired by the Michigan Department of Corrections to transport prisoners across states. Based in Nashville, Tenn., PTS is one of the largest private prisoner transportation companies in the nation and has been the subject of lawsuits, public scrutiny and allegations of mistreatment of prisoners. At least four people have died nationally in PTS vehicles since 2012, according to the Marshall Project, a nonprofit, Pulitzer-Prize-winning news organization focusing on criminal justice, which this year investigated for-profit extradition companies in collaboration with the New York Times. Prisoners in Michigan and elsewhere have sued for injuries suffered during their transport, while others have escaped while in the custody of these companies, in some instances causing harm to the public. … In Michigan, contracts with private transport companies contain rules that address security measures, such as minimum officer training requirements, and requiring transported prisoners to be handcuffed, wear seat belts and be given food and medicine on a regular basis. However, the state continues to leave other measures to the discretion of individual vendors, such as the decision to require cameras or to schedule regular bathroom breaks for the fugitives or suspects they carry. And because companies are paid per prisoner per mile, they can make more money by packing inmates tightly into vehicles and stopping infrequently, putting speed of delivery ahead of safety and security concerns. In Michigan, it remains unclear what steps, if any, the state takes to ensure private transport companies follow safety and security rules.

A proposed merger between the nation’s largest private extradition company, Prisoner Transportation Services, and its closest competitor was put on hold Tuesday after an advocacy organization filed an objection with the federal agency tasked with approving the deal.The Human Rights Defense Center, a nonprofit prisoner advocacy group, submitted its comment to the federal Surface Transportation Board on Monday, the deadline for public input before the merger became official. Citing a recent Marshall Project investigation into a pattern of deaths, escapes, crashes and abuse in the for-profit extradition industry, the filing argued that the merger would not be in the public interest because the companies have a history of poor treatment of prisoners. The objection also argued the merger would narrow the industry’s competitive field. … In an emailed statement, Nashville-based PTS defended the merger with its rival, U.S. Corrections. “This proposed transaction does serve the public’s interest,” the company said. “While we look forward to reviewing the complaint in detail, make no mistake, we are committed to doing things right and working to raise the standards of service across the entire industry.” …

]]>40113Lawmakers request info on NCDOT outsourcing after WBTV investigationhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/03/senator-steers-millions-in-ncdot-contracts-while-taking-campaign-cash.htm
Thu, 23 Mar 2017 15:35:16 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40714Source: Nick Ochsner, WBTV, March 9, 2017 State lawmakers have requested information from the North Carolina Department of Transportation on the comparative cost to hire private contractors versus using state employees for design and engineering services. The request comes just weeks after a WBTV investigation exposed questions about the increased use of private contractors at […]

State lawmakers have requested information from the North Carolina Department of Transportation on the comparative cost to hire private contractors versus using state employees for design and engineering services. The request comes just weeks after a WBTV investigation exposed questions about the increased use of private contractors at NCDOT. Rep. Frank Iler (R-Brunswick) made the request during a meeting of the Joint Committee on Transportation Appropriations in the House of Representatives held Tuesday morning. … In response to the question from Iler, NCDOT Chief Engineer Mike Holder said the department was working on trying to quantify the cost of using state personnel versus outside contractors. … Holder told lawmakers NCDOT has agreed to pay a consulting company to study how much money NCDOT pays in overhead costs for its employees. The focus on overhead comes after WBTV’s investigation published line-item cost estimates from private consulting firms that showed the state was paying between 140% and 200% overhead, in addition to the cost of man-hours and other actual expenses. …

A powerful state lawmaker has pushed to increase the outsourcing of services within the North Carolina Department of Transportation while collecting campaign contributions from private firms that do business with the state agency. NCDOT has increasingly been required to rely on private firms for engineering and design services since 2011. Since then lawmakers have required NCDOT to shed hundreds of workers and pay hundreds-of-millions of dollars to private firms instead. Ten of the largest engineering firms collectively billed taxpayers more than $111 million for services in 2016 alone. That sum does not include dozens of other private companies who were also awarded contracts. Internal documents obtained by WBTV Investigates show the private firms being hired by NCDOT are building in inflated overhead costs and a built-in profit margin into their bottom line. But some lawmakers continue to advocate for the outsourcing of more state highway jobs as a way to save money and build state roads more efficiently.

State Senator Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick) said it was a pretty easy decision to start outsourcing some services at NCDOT when he and other Republicans took the majority in the state legislature in 2011. … But a review of cost estimates for projects completed by private engineering firms suggests taxpayers may be paying a premium for outsourced services. WBTV Investigates obtained detailed cost estimates for several projects submitted to NCDOT by private firms. … It is not clear if projects completed by private firms—with a built-in profit margin and line items for overhead at up to twice the cost of labor—are more efficient than projects completed by state employees who work for NCDOT. … Campaign finance records show Rabon has collected campaign money from employees of private engineering firms and other companies involved in building roads and bridges, their political action committees and industry-related special interest groups. Records show Rabon’s campaign has taken more than $124,000 since 2012, the first year in which NCDOT was required to hit a specific outsourcing target. It is impossible to know for sure, though, exactly how much campaign money Rabon took from individuals connected to private engineering firms because occupation and employer information is incomplete for a large number of donors. … In his interview with WBTV Investigates, Rabon said he did not keep track of who donated to his campaign and insisted his push to privatize NCDOT services was not connected in any way to contributions made to his campaign. … Legislative records show Rabon continued to advocate for aggressive outsourcing at NCDOT during the 2015 and 2016 budget discussions. …

]]>40714How A Failed Experiment Could Still Be The Future Of Public Transithttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/03/public-private-partners-aim-to-enhance-existing-mass-transit-in-kc.htm
Wed, 08 Mar 2017 17:35:34 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=37010Source: Aarian Marshall, Wired, March 6, 2017 Bringing Bridj to Kansas City seemed like a no-brainer to transit officials. For just $1.50, anyone could use an app to summon a ride downtown in van that would follow a route calculated on the fly by an algorithm. No one within the service area was ever more […]

Bringing Bridj to Kansas City seemed like a no-brainer to transit officials. For just $1.50, anyone could use an app to summon a ride downtown in van that would follow a route calculated on the fly by an algorithm. No one within the service area was ever more than a 10 minute walk from a stop, and as an added incentive, your first 10 rides were free. It flopped. Just 1,480 people rode on a Bridj van, a laughably small figure in a city of 2 million people. The city launched the program with the Boston mobility startup in March 2016, and in the past six months just one-third of riders took more than 10 rides. The one-year, $1.3 million project ended Friday. You might call it a failure. Government officials and transit researchers call it a success…..

Urban technology company Bridj is teaming up with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) to launch Ride KC: Bridj. It is a one-year pilot program that will use a network of locally built Ford Transit vans (photo below on left). The program will provide a new way to access areas of Kansas City that are rich in jobs and housing. The project is scheduled to launch in early March. … Ride KC: Bridj will be powered by billions of data points, Bridj’s platform determines where riders want to go and how to get them there most efficiently. Using the Bridj mobile app, riders can request on-demand shuttle service that they can access via pop-up shuttle stations. The pilot aims to extend the current capabilities of Kansas City’s mass transit system.

]]>37010Haverhill contractor settles allegations of overbilling MBTA, prevailing wage violationshttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/03/haverhill-contractor-settles-allegations-of-overbilling-mbta-prevailing-wage-violations.htm
Wed, 01 Mar 2017 18:48:17 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40786Source: Eagle-Tribune, February 25, 2017 A New Hampshire-based general contractor with ties to Haverhill and one of its subcontractors have agreed to pay more than $420,000 for submitting false and inflated payment requests in connection with their construction of the Assembly Square Station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Orange Line in Somerville, […]

A New Hampshire-based general contractor with ties to Haverhill and one of its subcontractors have agreed to pay more than $420,000 for submitting false and inflated payment requests in connection with their construction of the Assembly Square Station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Orange Line in Somerville, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Friday. S&R Construction Enterprises, its president Stephen Early of Haverhill, subcontractor A&S Electrical and its manager Gregory Lane agreed to resolve allegations they violated the Massachusetts False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false and inflated pay estimates to improperly front load payments under their contracts. In addition, S&R Construction, based in Newton, New Hampshire, and A&S Electrical are barred from bidding on and accepting new public contracts in Massachusetts for five years and one year, respectively. …

]]>40786Contractor pays OSHA fine for Liberty Bridge fire without appealhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/02/contractor-pays-osha-fine-for-liberty-bridge-fire-without-appeal.htm
Wed, 22 Feb 2017 19:52:14 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40721Source: Ed Blazina, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 4, 2017 Joseph B. Fay Co. of West Deer, the contractor refurbishing the Liberty Bridge, has paid a federal fine for safety violations that led to September’s construction fire that closed the bridge for more than three weeks. Christopher Robinson, director of the Pittsburgh office of the federal Occupational […]

Joseph B. Fay Co. of West Deer, the contractor refurbishing the Liberty Bridge, has paid a federal fine for safety violations that led to September’s construction fire that closed the bridge for more than three weeks. Christopher Robinson, director of the Pittsburgh office of the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, said Thursday that Fay paid the $11,224 fine after a meeting with the agency. … The firm could have appealed the fine, which was issued for what the agency called a “serious” mistake of not properly protecting flammable material during a steel-cutting operation. As part of the $80 million project, an employee was cutting steel on the deck of the bridge Sept. 2 when hot slag fell onto a work platform below, igniting plastic ventilation pipe that was stored there. The fire burned so hot that it buckled a 30-foot support chord in a key area. As a result of concern the structure could collapse, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation closed the bridge for 24 days for emergency repairs. … Fay is paying directly for the cost of the permanent repair. The estimated $500,000 cost of the emergency repair, which involved consultants from 16 different universities and companies across the country, will be deducted from Fay’s final payment as part of liquidated damages for the fire and bridge closure. The company has challenged PennDOT’s additional assessment of $3,033,200 in liquidated damages for the time the bridge and a ramp to it were closed. Mr. Cessna said there has been no resolution yet. …

]]>40721How the Uber effect will reinvent public transithttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/02/can-public-transit-and-ride-share-companies-get-along.htm
Wed, 22 Feb 2017 15:02:39 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=39560Source: Rahul Kumar, American City & County, February 15, 2017 A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) came to the headline-grabbing conclusion that up to 95 percent of New York City taxi rides could be met through only 2,000 on-demand 10-person shuttles. The study demonstrates what […]

A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) came to the headline-grabbing conclusion that up to 95 percent of New York City taxi rides could be met through only 2,000 on-demand 10-person shuttles. The study demonstrates what companies like Uber and Lyft are striving toward, but also what many public transit agencies are struggling to address: that future transportation systems will seamlessly and dynamically match riders with the best transit modes and routes. … Existing fixed route-based transit systems are just that: fixed. There are plenty of advantages to these systems, not the least of which is operational simplicity. But our nation’s backbone of transit agencies – often overburdened and underfunded – should be asking themselves “what service options do riders want?” as opposed to “what service options are the easiest for us to deliver?” The answer is personal public transit. This concept of on-demand mobility isn’t all that new, however. … Another issue is the cost and operation of paratransit. … Transit agencies from Boston to Washington have recently started to look to partners like Uber and Lyft to help provide a ride-hailing option to relieve fiscal and infrastructure pressures. A 2016 Brookings report estimates transit agencies could save $1.1 billion to $2.2 billion per year using ride-hailing companies for paratransit, based on an average $13 to $18 per ride. However, the secret here is that versus transit these savings do not scale up very well; ride-hailing services are really not designed to handle simultaneous, multiple trips efficiently, therefore even a bus with six passengers on it has less of a cost impact than six separately ordered Uber vehicles. … Forward-thinking city planners in Gainesville, Fla., and Helsinki are reevaluating the traditional transit equation and instead choosing to co-opt ridesharing and even autonomous vehicle technology to fill current service gaps in less densely populated areas. … Solving the inefficiency riddle will ultimately require transit agencies, technology companies and other innovators to seamlessly work together to maximize social benefits because public transit benefits every American—even if you don’t ride.

Five Central Florida cities that cut deals with Uber hoping to boost SunRail ridership have released records revealing how much money they will pay the ride-sharing service, which the company had hoped to keep a “trade secret.” Cities began receiving invoices this week that tabulated costs through Jan. 17, which just surpasses the halfway point of the yearlong program. To that date, the highest total came from Altamonte Springs, which has paid for $14,863.59 in Uber rides. Sanford received a bill showing it owed $7,869.99. Additionally, Lake Mary owes $723.38 and Longwood owes $681.17, and Maitland owes $324.65 records show. In July, the cities began the one-year pilot with Uber to cover 25 percent of Uber fares on rides that start or finish at a SunRail station, and also start or finish within a city’s limits. Cities also cover 20 percent of rides on trips that start and finish within the borders of participating cities. …

In Centennial, Colorado and Altamonte Springs, Florida, residents and visitors can now get a free ride to the nearest train station. The ride is paid for by the local public transit agency, but it’s not a public bus that makes the trip. Rather, it’s a car driven by someone working for ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber. There are potential public benefits – the hope of increased ridership, better service for hard-to-serve areas and cost and equipment efficiencies. Competition could push sometimes slow-moving transit agencies to innovate and improve. There are also risks. Ride-sharing companies have devastated the private taxi market, effectively undercutting the entire industry in some cities. Mobility rights advocates and transit employees fear the same thing could happen to public transit, remaking, under private ownership, the way millions of Americans get around every day. … A likely outcome of ride-share and authority interaction is more of what is already taking shape in Colorado, Florida and many other locales – small-scale, replicable cooperation. Centennial and Altamonte Springs are attempting to address what is know in the transportation sector as the “first mile/last mile” problem. The idea is that many potential transit riders don’t use the service because it’s too far from either the beginning or end of a given trip. Offering ride-sharing as a way to connect from the doorway to the transit stop may help overcome this issue. … The biggest question about these new relationships is how well they meet riders’ needs over time. Disability rights advocates have already warned that substituting ride-share services for existing agency-run paratransit programs – on-demand rides for users with disabilities – may be a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Public agencies and most private transportation companies are bound to provide these services to all users, but it’s not yet clear whether newer ride-sharing companies must also – or how contracting with a government agency might require it. …continue reading

A new report estimates the Texas bullet train could cost taxpayers $21.5 billion and concludes that privately funded high speed rail is not a feasible mode of transit outside of the Northeastern United States. The report from the Reason Foundation estimates that the proposed Texas Central Partners project between Dallas and Houston will run at a $537 million annual operating deficit over the its first 40 years of operations. The report also touches on the feasibility of other proposed privately funded high speed projects in California and Colorado. It comes at a time when President Trump’s infrastructure wish list apparently includes several high speed rail projects, and the president lamented a lack of high speed rail in a recent meeting with airlines executives. … The Reason report examines ridership trends and projections in the Dallas to Houston corridor, the cost of building a line along the 240-mile proposed route, and other factors, its authors said. … These factors indicate that “high-speed rail has no chance of succeeding in Texas, absent a dramatic change in land use and transit patterns,” the report concludes. It further finds that Texas Central Partners has exaggerated its ridership projections while underestimating costs, which will lead to revenue shortfalls, financial difficulties and ultimately, taxpayer subsidies. …

]]>40601Parking meters, garages took in $156M — but city won’t see a centhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/02/a-tale-of-two-p3s.htm
Fri, 17 Feb 2017 15:49:29 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=38694Source: Mick Dumke and Chris Fusco, Chicago Sun-Times, February 13, 2017 Chicago’s parking-meter system took in $121.7 million last year, while four underground city-owned garages reaped another $34.7 million — with not a penny of that money going to the cash-strapped city government. Instead, the $156.3 million pot of parking cash went to private investors […]

Chicago’s parking-meter system took in $121.7 million last year, while four underground city-owned garages reaped another $34.7 million — with not a penny of that money going to the cash-strapped city government. Instead, the $156.3 million pot of parking cash went to private investors who control the meters and garages under deals cut by former Mayor Richard M. Daley and rubber-stamped by the City Council. … Chicago Parking Meters — formed by banking giant Morgan Stanley and other financial partners — paid the city $1.15 billion to manage the meter system and pocket the money fed into it for the next 75 years. The city took in $23.8 million from the meters in 2008, the last year before CPM took over the system. In the seven years since, the meter company has reported a total of $778.6 million in revenues. It’s on pace to make back what it paid the city by 2020, with more than 60 years of meter money still to come. … The garage agreement has also sent a stream of money into the coffers of private investors. … Over the nine years of the deal, the facilities have generated $292.6 million in revenue for their private operators. … Last week, the rights to the garages were sold to a group of foreign investors.

Chicago’s first mistake in its much-maligned parking meter lease was its choice of asset. That’s one conclusion of a report released Thursday by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research that looks at public-private partnerships and compares the details of two deals – Chicago’s nearly $1.2 billion 75-year meter system lease and Indiana’s $3.9 billion 75-year lease of the Indiana Toll Road. The Indiana deal is held up as a model while the Chicago parking lease offers a roadmap of pitfalls to avoid. …

One deal went sour almost immediately, and remains one of the most hated transactions in Chicago history. The other, just a few miles away, has had its bumps, but otherwise netted the public treasury billions it otherwise might have lacked. So what did Chicago do wrong when it privatized its parking-meter operation and Indiana do right when it agreed to a 75-year lease for its tollway system? That’s the question urban blogger and Manhattan Institute senior fellow Aaron Renn asks in a new paper. And his conclusions are worth a look as officials consider other potential public/private deals, such as building an express train from the Loop to O’Hare and adding new toll lanes to stretches of the now-free I-55. …

]]>38694Report: Privatized Medicaid program serves fewer people, costs morehttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/02/report-privatized-medicaid-program-serves-fewer-people-costs-more.htm
Wed, 15 Feb 2017 21:08:40 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40548Source: Brian M. Rosenthal, Houston Chronicle, February 12, 2017 The privatization of a state program that transports poor Texans to medical appointments has cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars more while serving fewer than half as many people, according to a Legislative Budget Board report that some officials tried to withhold from the […]

The privatization of a state program that transports poor Texans to medical appointments has cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars more while serving fewer than half as many people, according to a Legislative Budget Board report that some officials tried to withhold from the public. In the five years since Texas began privatizing the management of the Medical Transportation Program, the number of Medicaid recipients using the program has dropped from 350,000 to 150,000, the number of substantiated complaints has doubled, administrative costs have quadruped and the overall per-ride cost to the public has nearly tripled, the report authors found. The privatization effort was designed to reduce fraud, and anti-fraud measures may have caused some of the drop in users. Still, the budget board found, privatization has left out thousands of people and cost taxpayers an estimated $316 million more than would have been spent if the state still was running the program. Despite the problems, and in spite of a promise to put the program out for bid again, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission recently renewed all of the contracts until 2018, the budget board report noted. The problems were caused, in part, by a sloppy procurement process, the report concluded. The Health and Human Services Commission solicited applications from companies to manage different regions of the state, but it picked several firms that its own evaluators had determined were not the best options, according to the report’s authors. …

]]>40548A Transportation Public-Private Partnership Case Study (Podcast)http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/02/a-transportation-public-private-partnership-case-study-podcast.htm
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 18:43:15 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40564Source: Kevin Kryah, Smart & Resilient Cities, February 8, 2017 “The Long and Winding Road to Smart City P3s” is a program from Scranton Gillette Communications and Meeting of the Minds that explores the position of Public Private Partnerships for Transportation (P3s) in the modern infrastructure portfolio. This first panel presents the case of a […]

“The Long and Winding Road to Smart City P3s” is a program from Scranton Gillette Communications and Meeting of the Minds that explores the position of Public Private Partnerships for Transportation (P3s) in the modern infrastructure portfolio. This first panel presents the case of a successful P3 transportation project and the work that was needed to reap the economic and sustainability benefits. Panelists on this podcast include Mary Scott Nabers, President and CEO of Strategic Partners, Inc.; Marshall Macomber, President of ThinkP3; John Parkinson, Execuitve Director of AIAI; and Jennifer Aument, Group General Manager of North America Transurban.

]]>40564Arizona lawmaker pushes to cut vehicle fleet by using Uber for state workershttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/02/arizona-lawmaker-pushes-to-cut-vehicle-fleet-by-using-uber-for-state-workers.htm
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 17:11:47 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40554Source: Associated Press, February 11, 2017 An Arizona lawmaker has proposed legislation requiring the state to cut its vehicle fleet by 20 percent and to launch a program that could use ride-hailing services like Uber or Lyft or other companies to provide transportation for state workers. … Weninger’s House Bill 2440 requires a 20 percent […]

An Arizona lawmaker has proposed legislation requiring the state to cut its vehicle fleet by 20 percent and to launch a program that could use ride-hailing services like Uber or Lyft or other companies to provide transportation for state workers. … Weninger’s House Bill 2440 requires a 20 percent cut in the state car and light truck fleet and the creation of a pilot program using rental cars, fleet management services, ride hailing services, vehicle for hire companies or private-public partnerships. …

]]>40554Reinventing the Port Authority of New York & New Jerseyhttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2017/02/reinventing-the-port-authority-of-new-york-new-jersey.htm
Fri, 10 Feb 2017 19:26:26 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40496Source: Robert Poole, Reason Foundation, February 2, 2017 The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey was established in 1921 to create a sustainable, de- politicized way to provide and manage bi-state transportation infrastructure. At the time, the highly centralized, Progressive-Era public authority model was state-of-the-art. Nearly a century later, however, the model’s three […]

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey was established in 1921 to create a sustainable, de- politicized way to provide and manage bi-state transportation infrastructure. At the time, the highly centralized, Progressive-Era public authority model was state-of-the-art. Nearly a century later, however, the model’s three key limitations have become evident: politicized decision-making, money-losing facilities, and declining financial viability. … The PA needs more dramatic reform, and understanding why is based on a fundamental fact: Major transportation infrastructure requires ongoing investment: adding capacity as needed, renewing and replacing aging facilities, and keeping pace with the latest technologies. That is simply not possible until the PA abandons its decades-long practice of common-pool funding and extensive cross-subsidies, and moves instead toward infrastructure facilities funded by dedicated revenue streams and facility-specific accountability. The mechanism to do so is long-term public-private partnerships (P3s), which today mobilize hundreds of billions of new capital for infrastructure around the world. …

The incoming Trump administration has proposed a $1 trillion program to foster private investment in aging public-sector infrastructure. Eligible projects would involve infrastructure that has, or could have, robust user-fee revenue streams. Large-scale public-private partnerships (P3s) would finance, redesign, rebuild and modernize, operate and maintain aging and/or under-sized airport, highway, seaport, water-supply and waste-treatment facilities. These projects would be financed via equity investment (20% to 30%) and long- term revenue bond financing (70% to 80%). Global infrastructure investment funds, U.S investment banks and large pension funds are eager to invest in such P3 projects in the United States. But to date, the opportunities to do such projects have been far greater in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe and Latin America than here in the land of free enterprise. Part of this is due to the institutional inertia of many state and local governments that are slow to adopt new ways of doing business. But another major factor is federal obstacles to this kind of private capital investment in state and local infrastructure. … There is no lack of candidate projects. … This report identifies the principal federal barriers. …

Amid rising tensions over alleged Russian hacking in the U.S., NASA continues to pay Roscosmos, that country’s space agency, hundreds of millions of dollars to send crews to the International Space Station. NASA has spent $897 million with state-controlled Roscosmos since fiscal 2015 and $2.1 billion since the U.S. retired its space shuttle fleet in 2011, Bloomberg Government data show. … Meanwhile, NASA must rely on Russia to transport astronauts and equipment for at least two more years. Roscosmos will receive another $950 million in 2017 and 2018 for 12 more round trips on Soyuz ISS flights, according a September report by NASA’s Office of Inspector General. Congressional budget cuts to NASA’s Commercial Crew Program forced the agency to extend its contract with Roscosmos to keep sending American astronauts to the ISS, according to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s August 2015 letter to Congress.

An Alaska State Employees association filed a class-action grievance Tuesday against Governor Walker and his Administration on behalf of Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities construction design employees, whose duties will be privatized under Gov. Walker’s proposed FY2018 Operating Budget. The grievance was filed by ASEA/AFSCME Local 52 headquartered in Anchorage. ASEA/AFSCME Local 52 represents more than 8,000 state and municipal employees across Alaska. In addition to cutting hundreds of positions to bridge Alaska’s fiscal gap, Governor Walker’s budget includes plans to privatize construction design work in the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities without performing a feasibility study or providing an opportunity for the Union to submit alternate proposals to retain State employees, as is required under the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiated by the State of Alaska and ASEA. …

Gov. Bill Walker is facing more pushback over his proposed budget for next year, this time in the form of a grievance a state employees union has filed. Staff members of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ design department are responsible for designing construction projects like roads and intersections. Part of Walker’s fiscal plan is letting 76 of those employees go in 2018 and up to 300 more in the future, as well as outsourcing jobs. His fiscal year 2018 Budget Review says, “Outsourcing design has the added advantage of bolstering the private sector economy while maximizing the number of projects completed with the available transportation funding.” … The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the ASEA, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 52 and the State of Alaska — which took effect in July — states in Article 13, “Decisions to contract out shall be made only after the affected agency has conducted a written feasibility study determining the potential costs and benefits that would result from contracting out the work in question. The study shall include all costs associated with contracting out the work in question including, but not limited to, wages, benefits, administrative costs, agency overhead, program supervision, and audits.” Duncan said that study hasn’t been done, and the governor’s plan breaches the contract. The grievance claims the governor and the state have “failed to consider the intent behind the agreement regarding privatization” by acting outside the CBA’s guidelines. Because of that, ASEA claims the governor and state are in violation of Article 13 and wants them to immediately stop contracting out members’ work and follow the CBA’s rules regarding privatization. Duncan said roughly 50 percent of design work is currently outsourced. …

]]>40269Brindisi takes DOT to task for job outsourcinghttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2016/11/brindisi-takes-dot-to-task-for-job-outsourcing.htm
Tue, 29 Nov 2016 17:57:16 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40083Source: Rome Sentinel, November 28, 2016 Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi is taking the New York State Department of Transportation and other state agencies to task for allegedly outsourcing work on the “I Love NY” signs to a company in Arkansas. Brindisi recently wrote a letter to the DOT asking that they and other state organizations change […]

Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi is taking the New York State Department of Transportation and other state agencies to task for allegedly outsourcing work on the “I Love NY” signs to a company in Arkansas. Brindisi recently wrote a letter to the DOT asking that they and other state organizations change contract requirements for similar projects, according to an announcment from his office. Brindisi said that he wants to ensure that companies in the state and their workers receive priority when work contracts are awarded. … Media reports state that placards on several dozen ‘I Love NY’ signs that promote Taste NY, The Path Through History and other programs were printed by Interstate Sign Ways of Arkansas. Brindisi said other sign painting was done by Hermosa Corporation in New York Mills and Elderlee, Inc., in Ontario County. “I find it ironic that a company from Arkansas was paid to work on a project helping to promote New York State products,” Brindisi said. …

]]>40083Metro halts plans to privatize parkinghttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2016/11/metro-halts-plans-to-privatize-parking.htm
Mon, 21 Nov 2016 16:31:23 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40029Source: Max Smith, WTOP, November 18, 2016 Metro has canceled a request for proposals to privatize its parking lots. Documents related to the procurement, dated Thursday, say that Metro must re-evaluate the requirements. When Metro published the initial formal request in September, it hoped to find a way to give a private company the responsibility […]

Metro has canceled a request for proposals to privatize its parking lots. Documents related to the procurement, dated Thursday, say that Metro must re-evaluate the requirements. When Metro published the initial formal request in September, it hoped to find a way to give a private company the responsibility for maintenance and upgrades in exchange for the rights to collect parking fees. General Manager Paul Wiedefeld included privatizing parking on his list of potential management changes for Metro back in March. Concerns about the proposal included whether there could be a conflict between maximizing parking revenue and maximizing the number of people who take the train rather than joining D.C. area traffic jams.

Public transit in Washington, D.C., is in rough shape. After years of safety issues, including several train collisions, the agency in charge, the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA), is proposing to cut train service hours. But another proposal may be even more troubling. Two weeks ago, WMATA began taking bids from private companies to operate its parking facilities. In exchange for a big up-front payment to the agency, the winning company would collect fees from people parked at train stations for the next 50 years. … It discourages public transit. In order for the private company to make a profit, parking rates will have to go up — as much as 3% a year, according to WMATA. If it costs more money to park and ride the train, people may look for other ways into the city. We lose control of assets we own. In a similar 75-year deal, Chicago handed over its parking meters in 2008 to banking giant Morgan Stanley for a one-time $1.2 billion payment. But that’s not all it handed over. The city is penalized if they do anything that cuts into Morgan Stanley’s profit, like adding bus or bike lanes. … It’s short-term thinking. The parking facilities currently pull in nearly $50 million a year for WMATA. Privatization would send that money—and more—to a private company instead of the public. In Chicago, Morgan Stanley is on pace to make back its $1.2 billion upfront payment by 2020, with more than 60 years of meter money still to come. …

Metrorail is preparing to hand over responsibility of its lucrative parking garages to a private contractor, the News4 I-Team has learned. WMATA currently manages 26 parking garages and 30 parking lots among its stations in D.C., Virginia and Maryland. Now the agency is seeking bids from companies interested in operating, financing and maintaining the transit system’s parking system. … While WMATA would be giving up the bulk of its parking revenue, the contract would grant money to WMATA. While the amount is unknown, it could exceed WMATA’s current parking revenues. In its proposal to would-be contractors, WMATA suggests the price of “base parking fees” increase 3 percent each year for the duration of the deal. The agency said it would also consider expanding the hours during which parking is charged, to include holidays and late nights. … The bids from private contractors are due by Oct. 28. WMATA is seeking a 50-year agreement with the contractor, according to an agency proposal reviewed by the I-Team. The proposal said it expects to close the deal by next July 1. The contractor would oversee the system’s 59,267 daily parking spaces, 56 parking lots and garages, and 3,445 parking meters. …

]]>40029Members of the First Student bus union threaten to strike Thursday morninghttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2016/11/members-of-the-first-student-bus-union-threaten-to-strike-thursday-morning.htm
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 16:45:58 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40018Source: Gina Marini, NH1, November 14, 2016 Parents across the state could be scrambling to find their children rides to school this week as bus drivers threaten to strike. Buses were screeching to a halt as they arrived to schools this afternoon picking kids up to bring them home, but as early as Thursday morning, […]

Parents across the state could be scrambling to find their children rides to school this week as bus drivers threaten to strike. Buses were screeching to a halt as they arrived to schools this afternoon picking kids up to bring them home, but as early as Thursday morning, workers of the First Student bus union say they might strike. “They first sent out an email notification to parents on Nov. 3 just to notify them of a potential work-stoppage,” said Michael Tori, Superintendent of Belmont schools. First Student told NH1 News, “There is a labor dispute out of Belmont right now. We’re actively working with the union to solve that.” If the strike does happen, it will directly affect schools across the state. Some of those schools are in Canterbury, Alton, Gilford, Laconia, and Belmont. Superintendent Tori says he has a plan in place. …

]]>40018Privatization of parking meters in Jackson continueshttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2016/11/privatization-of-parking-meters-in-jackson-continues.htm
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 16:34:13 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40010Source: Patrice Clark, MS News Now, November 15, 2016 3 On Your Side was first to tell you about parking meter problems in Jackson. The debate continued Tuesday at the City Council meeting. The proposal on the table would allow a private company to take over the meter operation and increase fees, but some people want […]

3 On Your Side was first to tell you about parking meter problems in Jackson. The debate continued Tuesday at the City Council meeting. The proposal on the table would allow a private company to take over the meter operation and increase fees, but some people want to keep things local. There are more than 1000 Parking meters in the city of Jackson; while some work, many don’t – resulting in unpaid tickets and lost revenue. The city wants to hire Hudson Associates to take over the operation. … The city is expected boost earnings by $150,000 yearly. Also under the plan, the old, broken meters will be replaced with modern ones that you can use a credit card or cell phone to pay. The city also wants to increase hourly parking costs from $.50 to a $1.00 or more. … During Tuesday’s council meeting, some residents spoke out against the privatization partnership. They say the city is losing money because it’s lazy with forcing violators to pay tickets, a problem that can be fixed internally. …

The city of Jackson will advertise next month for proposals to privatize the city’s parking meter operation. The Jackson City Council voted Thursday to encourage Mayor Tony Yarber’s administration to request proposals. … The Clarion-Ledger has reported at least 1 in 10 parking meters are inoperable in Jackson, and annual revenue from meter change has plummeted by about $312,000 in 15 years. Last fiscal year, Jackson received $154,230 in revenue from about 1,200 parking meters. To compare, Oxford earned $470,902 in revenue from just 286 parking meters last year. Many of the city’s parking meters aren’t working. Possible changes include new meters that would allow debit card use. JPD traffic enforcement officers write parking tickets but the city’s Public Works Department is responsible for daily management and maintenance. In Jackson, parking meters, in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, cost users 50 cents an hour.

]]>40010Why airport privatization plan didn’t seek bidshttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2016/11/why-airport-privatization-plan-didnt-seek-bids.htm
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 16:30:36 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=40007Source: David McKay Wilson, Lohud, November 14, 2016 The international wave of airport privatization deals, which has seen private firms take control of many of the world’s largest airports, has yet to gain traction in the continental United States. Westchester County Airport now stands as the lone passenger facility seeking federal approval to turn over its […]

The international wave of airport privatization deals, which has seen private firms take control of many of the world’s largest airports, has yet to gain traction in the continental United States. Westchester County Airport now stands as the lone passenger facility seeking federal approval to turn over its airport revenue to a private company. A Tax Watch review of these deals around the world found a major difference: Westchester did not seek bids to test the open market before selecting Oaktree Capital Management to run the airport known as HPN. … Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino opted not to test the open market. He began talks with Oaktree in late 2015, with negotiations intensifying over the past three months. Federal regulations have no bidding requirement. Astorino said he felt comfortable with Oaktree because there aren’t many companies that have experience with the Federal Aviation Administration and airport management. … According to county budget documents, the county has received income of about $45 million a year, which includes revenue from a variety of sources. It includes rents from general aviation operators, corporate jet hangers, rental-car companies as well as landing fees from commercial airlines, the $4.50-per passenger fee added onto every ticket on departure flights, and a share of parking garage revenues. That money currently goes into a restricted airport fund to be used exclusively for airport operations. Emmett McCann, a managing director at Oaktree, said the U.S. privatization program, which began under President Bill Clinton, differs from others around the world because the airlines have a say in whether the deal goes through, with 65 percent of the carriers at an airport required to back the deal. Astorino has already lined up major carriers at Westchester to back the deal, including Jet Blue, American and United Airlines. … The Oaktree deal would expand upon Westchester’s partial privatization at the airport, which has had private management dating back to its establishment in the mid-1940s. Westchester now pays AvPORTS about $1 million a year to run the airport operation — on top of paying about $45 million in expenses, including the salaries of AvPORTS employees — from revenues it receives from myriad sources. Under the Oaktree deal, the private equity firm would manage the airport and receive the income stream over the next 40 years — bringing in an estimated $2 billion in today’s dollars. In exchange, Westchester would be able to use the proceeds for the 40-year lease for general county purposes. That’s a boon to an anti-tax crusader like Astorino, who is considering privatizing more county functions to reap non-tax income. …

County Executive Rob Astorino is pushing hard to privatize Westchester County Airport. The move would see Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management take over, in exchange for an up-front payment of $130 million, a portion of which Astorino has included in his 2017 budget. In order to get that money, the Board of Legislators must approve the deal by Dec. 27. That means there’s a lot to unpack in a short period of time. Here, we try and flesh out some statements the county executive made to the Journal News during an editorial board meeting Nov. 3. …

New York’s Westchester County announced a public-private partnership for its municipal airport in White Plains, N.Y. designed to direct airport revenue to the county budget. County Executive Rob Astorino announced Thursday a 40-year deal to lease Westchester County Airport to Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management for $140 million. The deal calls for Westchester County to receive a $111 million upfront payment from Oaktree, structured to have proceeds applied to the county’s operating budget over the course of the 40-year lease. The structure works like an annuity, a county press release said. Astorino said net revenue would amount to $15 million in the first year and $5 million annually over the following five years. … The P3 deal would come under the Federal Aviation Administration’s Privatization Pilot Program that allows for up to 10 airports to be privatized. Oaktree helped implement the first P3 for a major U.S. territory airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. According to an FAA website, San Juan is the only privatized airport in the 19-year-old program. The transaction will require the approval of the FAA and the Westchester County Legislature must also approve the lease agreement. …

About a month before voters decide on Measure M, a sales tax increase to fund transportation projects, Los Angeles County’s transit agency has announced new, potential private partnerships that would accelerate construction of some big projects included in the initiative. Last year, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority launched a program inviting private companies to propose partnerships with Metro. The public-private partnerships are intended to speed up construction of major projects with an infusion of private investment, expertise and shared risk. … To complement the program, called P3, Metro has also launched an effort to make more projects “shovel ready” should unanticipated funds become available through a private partnership. “Shovel ready” means completing initial environmental reviews, feasibility studies and design work for projects seen as likely to attract funders’ interest, like an extension of the Crenshaw line north to West Hollywood. The agency has received about 50 unsolicited proposals so far, according to Joshua Schank, Metro’s chief innovation officer. Several have the potential to speed up specific Measure M projects, including the West Santa Ana Branch light rail connecting Artesia to downtown L.A. and the Purple Line subway to Westwood. …

]]>39747Getting humans to Mars will require NASA and private companies to team up, Obama sayshttp://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/2016/10/getting-humans-to-mars-will-require-nasa-and-private-companies-to-team-up-obama-says.htm
Wed, 12 Oct 2016 16:15:08 +0000http://www.afscmeinfocenter.org/privatizationupdate/?p=39726Source: Samantha Masunaga and Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times, October 11, 2016 President Obama hammered home his goal to send humans to Mars by the 2030s, while acknowledging that accomplishing it would require public and private collaboration. Obama first said in 2010 he wanted to send astronauts “to orbit Mars and return them safely to […]

President Obama hammered home his goal to send humans to Mars by the 2030s, while acknowledging that accomplishing it would require public and private collaboration. Obama first said in 2010 he wanted to send astronauts “to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth” by the mid-2030s with “a landing on Mars” to follow. … Obama’s article comes two weeks after SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk laid out an ambitious plan to eventually send 1 million people to colonize the red planet and turn humans into a multiplanetary species within 40 to 100 years. In a speech at the International Astronautical Congress in Mexico, Musk similarly called for a public/private partnership. NASA is working with Hawthorne-based SpaceX and aerospace giant Boeing Co. to develop crew capsules to take astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA relies on SpaceX and aerospace firm Orbital ATK to deliver supplies and cargo to the space station. … Analysts said a public/private partnership recognizes the reality of the space business today, as well as financial limitations. … SpaceX, whose full name is Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has said its first test flight of an interplanetary vehicle could come in four years. A crewed mission could launch in late 2024 and arrive on Mars in 2025. … Marco Caceres, senior space analyst at the Teal Group, estimated that a mission to Mars done the “traditional way” by NASA could cost at least $1 trillion. Oftentimes, large space programs can get delayed if Congress does not grant the requested funding amount, or if there are technical problems along the way. A public/private partnership may speed up the timeline and could lower that cost below $1 trillion, Caceres said. But one of the biggest questions is whether such a program could get funding from Congress, said Ostrove of Forecast International. …

That’s one of the reasons why, in my first address as President to the American people, I vowed to return science to its rightful place. In our first few months, my administration made the largest single investment in basic research in our history, and I went to the Kennedy Space Center to call for reimagining and reinvigorating our space program to explore more of our solar system and look deeper into the universe than ever. In the years since, we’ve revitalized technology innovation at NASA, extended the life of the International Space Station, and helped American companies create private-sector jobs by capitalizing on the untapped potential of the space industry. … We have set a clear goal vital to the next chapter of America’s story in space: sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and returning them safely to Earth, with the ultimate ambition to one day remain there for an extended time. Getting to Mars will require continued cooperation between government and private innovators, and we’re already well on our way. Within the next two years, private companies will for the first time send astronauts to the International Space Station. …

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is accepting proposals for partnerships with private industry through October. Companies can submit proposals to team with the department on road, bridge, rail, aviation and port construction and maintenance. Proposals can also address ways to manage existing transportation-related services and programs. … The state’s P3 law allows PennDOT and other transportation authorities and commissions to partner with private companies on transportation-related projects. As part of the P3 law, the seven-member Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board was appointed to examine and approve potential public-private transportation projects. Already in place is an $899 million partnership with Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners, a company financing, replacing and maintaining 558 state-owned bridges through 2018. …

The Pennsylvania Public Private Partnership Board, known as P3, has approved three projects that it hopes will provide more efficient state Department of Transportation services and infrastructure through partnerships with the private sector.

Two of the projects were proposed by private companies, while the third was an idea from PennDOT.

Site Acquisition Services Inc. of Paoli proposed a project that would provide a fair-market rental fee for the use of PennDOT-owned bridges, signs, buildings and maintenance facilities for the attachment of wireless antennas and related equipment.

Bentley Systems Inc of Exton suggested PennDOT replace its aging Automated Permit Routing Analysis System, which it uses to issue special hauling permits, with the company’s system currently being used in other states….

…The third project approved was PennDOT’s own proposal.

The proposal would have one single third-party entity replace hundreds of the state’s deteriorating bridges….